Minister draws attention to National Sorry Day

24-May-2018

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Sarah Mitchell has spoken today about the importance of acknowledging National Sorry Day on May 26 and remembering and recognising the past mistreatment of our Nation’s First Peoples.

Minister Mitchell has drawn attention to the NSW Government’s Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme, and further to this, how else the Liberals & Nationals Government is supporting healing for Aboriginal people.

Through OCHRE, the NSW Government is the first government in Australia to incorporate healing into its Aboriginal affairs policy and, alongside the Healing Foundation, will continue to work with Aboriginal communities to support healing initiatives.

“As Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, I am acutely aware of the importance of acknowledging the past harm of Aboriginal people and the profound suffering the policies of successive parliaments have inflicted on them, in particular the Stolen Generations,” Mrs Mitchell said.

“That is why I am proud the NSW Government is ensuring those Stolen Generation survivors who have received a reparation payment from the Stolen Generations Reparations scheme also receive a personal apology.”

Minister Mitchell also acknowledged that, as at April 2018, 143 eligible applicants have indicated they wish to receive a personalised apology for their removal from their family, community and culture.

“We know these apologies cannot undo the past. But, an apology not only demonstrates the Government’s acknowledgement of harm caused by forcible removal policies, it also shows a genuine commitment to addressing this harm.”

The NSW Government invested $73 million into the Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme – designed to provide monetary reparations to Aboriginal people who were removed from their families – in 2016.